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Jim, I'll go with those who say the spacers are the last resort, BUT (note that's a big "but") when the tail is too low after ALL the other maintenance is done, then I'd put in the spacers. The plane is designed to land properly when its landing gear makes it level when sitting on the ground. This dumps lift from the wings because the angle of attack is so small (still positive, but small). So, even in pretty strong crosswinds, the plane behaves well even with only two controls. If you have the ERCO rudder pedal kit it is also critical to be level when on the ground for the same reason. If you have the ALON rudder pedal kit (nose wheel steered by rudder pedals), you can somewhat ignore the low tail because you can turn the ailerons into the wind after touch down to prevent wing lift - I've done it in pretty strong crosswinds. But even so, my plane behaved much better when I did landing gear maintenance and got the tail up. First, I'd make sure tires are inflated properly. Next, I'd measure my tail height on level ground. With the single fork gear, it should be 75". With the double fork gear, it should be in the ballpark of 76 1/2 inches. You could also put a level on the window sill. If the tail were low, I'd next replace the rubber donuts or inspect the Belleville springs if it has those instead. After replacing the rubber donuts, if the tail is still too low, I'd use the minimum spacer needed to get the tail up to an acceptable height. Bill Coons will mail you the formula for computing the needed spacer thickness for your bird, given your tail lowness. I'd call it acceptable if it's within two inches of optimum. Also, I'd work hard to keep my single fork nose gear to avoid having the longer double fork gear. With the tail at the correct height, you have one of the best performing crosswind aircraft flying. There've been many days when I had the last plane flying as I flew cross country or practiced crosswind landings and the other guys could do nothing but watch. With the tail drooping, the crosswind performance becomes progressively worse until you have wing lift that you can't control that'll could well blow you off the runway into whatever. (It won't flip you.) Personally, I chose to risk the shock travel rather than risk the control problems in crosswind landings. Besides, after having my Coupe for a while, the only dropped in landing came from letting someone else fly the landing as a Coupe demo. JMHO. I'd do all other maintenance first. Then, if it's still more than 2" lower than optimum, I'd add spacers. Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com ed -at- edburkhead???.com (change -at- to @ and remove "???") ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
